Sunday, September 23, 2012

Proof That the BabyGirl Is a Girl (As If There Was Any Doubt)

The Professor and the BabyGirl were in the car running errands together.

Professor: We're going to Walmar to buy _________.

BabyGirl: Wanna go to Garget (Target).

Professor: I'm sorry, but we can't go to Target. We're going to Walmart.

BabyGirl: Wanna go to Garget.

Professor: We're going to Walmart, sweetie.

BabyGirl: WAAAAA!! DON'T WANNA GO TO WALMART; WANNA GO TO GARGET!!!!!


And honestly, can you blame her? Who wouldn't rather go to Garget?
 

Monday, September 17, 2012

Happy ThirtyTWO!

Two weekends ago we celebrated The Professor's birthday. He is now thirty-two. The BabyGirl believes that he is just two, but we've been trying to convince her that he is actually thirty-two. She mostly doesn't buy it, but occasionally she'll say "firty-TWOOOO!!!" She herself turned two back in April, and at the time we worked so exuberantly to teach her that when people ask, "How old are you?" the answer is "TWOOO!!!" The trouble is, now she thinks that two is the answer when asking about everyone, not just herself.

Having a brand-new baby limited us somewhat in our celebrations; we weren't able to do anything super exciting. On The Professor's birthday eve we drove across town to the Dead Marshes Mall (it only has about 2 stores left and everything else is vacant—very creepy) to eat dinner at Chick-fil-A. You'd think that after so many years of living without Chick-fil-A that we would take advantage of this one and go there more often, but we don't. So it was a special treat.

Happy birthday, Professor!


There's a VIDEO in the kids' meal?!?
 
 
We both love Chick-fil-A lemonade!
Except it's incredibly sweet and potent and i forgot to ask them to dilute it. 
For a toddler, it's basically like crack. 

It was Bright Eyes' very first time at Chick-fil-A in her whole baby life!
You can see that it was quite an experience for her.

 
Another noteworthy thing about this birthday for The Professor was that it marked the half-life of his car. He has now had it for half of his life! He loves that car and it has treated him very well the past 16 years. They had a long-distance relationship for a long time while we lived in the Big City, but now are happily reunited.


The BabyGirl, Bright Eyes, and i are all extremely thankful for The Professor and so honored to have him in our lives. We love you, Professor!
 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Bringing Cosmic Back

Were you starting to get bored with how peaceful and happy this blog had become? The last several months were all "we're so thankful for this" and "we're praying for that." There was a significant lack of drama or emotional crisis, and it was starting to creep me out. I was afraid that i'd have to rename the blog "Life Is Going Fine," because it had become a misnomer to say that Life Is Cosmic.

Well, never fear! A new development in our lives is definitely bringing cosmic back.

Allow me to introduce Bright Eyes:


Bright Eyes is VERY cosmic. Whatever particular thing she is experiencing at a given moment, she experiences it 150%. Most human beings go through a progression of "I'm a little bit hungry" to "Yes i'm definitely hungry" to "Okay I'm very hungry now." Bright Eyes, on the other hand, is completely non-hungry one minute and the very next she's screaming, "GOOD LORD I'M HUNGRY! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!? DON'T YOU KNOW A HUNGRY BABY WHEN YOU SEE ONE?!?"

The BabyGirl was a very peaceful and serene baby. I remember when she got some shots at her 2 month checkup, it was the first time i heard her really cry. It broke my heart. Bright Eyes, however, cries at that level on a daily basis. In her defense, she's been having some tummy trouble. We recently started her on reflux medication and she's much happier as a result.

It's not just Bright Eyes herself that is making life cosmic. The general combination of sleep deprivation, post partum hormones, and weeks of physical pain from a difficult delivery adds to the chaos. We all love Bright Eyes dearly, but we will love her much more when we don't have to see her at 2:00 am.

The newborn period is sooooo hard. It's a wonder anyone survives. Mostly i just want to fast-forward a few months. But then i feel guilty because she's my precious daughter yet i want to skip part of her life.

I was watching something on youtube the other day, and before the video played i saw one of the P & G Olympic mom ads. I've googled this ad a million times to try to find it again and it's nowhere to be found. It would be so much better if you could just watch it rather than me describing it to you. It was about one of the gymnasts. It showed a clip of her in the Olympics and her mom up in the stands cheering. The narrator said, "Jordyn Wieber knows that her biggest fan . . . is also her first fan." Then it showed a picture of Jordyn's mom holding teeny baby Jordyn.

Of course my poor hormonal, overtired self cried my eyes out. Because right now i'm holding teeny baby Bright Eyes, but one day she may be an Olympian. Or an astronaut. Or a Nobel Prize winner. Or President of the United States. And even if she's the checkout lady at the Evil Dominion of Hy-Vee, i'm her first fan. I'll always be cheering. Right now i cheer when she lifts her head off the floor during tummy time. I'll cheer when she rolls over, and when she walks. I'll cheer at her ballet recitals or softball games or track meets. I'll cheer when she graduates from high school and college.

Yes, Bright Eyes is cosmic. She spits up all over the place and she's more likely to smile at the ceiling fan than at me. But i love her and i'm her first fan.